GIFT  OF 


THE  LOVE  LIFE  OF  THE  UNCONSCIOUS  MIND 


JOSEPH  RALPH 


A   MESSAGE   OF   INTEREST 


THE  LOVE  LIFE  OF  THE 
UNCONSCIOUS  MIND 

By 
JOSEPH  RALPH 

Author  of 

How  to  Pyscho-Analyze  Yourself 


Published  by  the  Author 
LONG  BEACH,  CALIFORNIA 


Copyright 

by 

JOSEPH  RALPH 
1921 


Press  of 

Times-Mirror  Printing  &.  Binding  House 
Los  Angeles,  Calif. 


PEEFACE 

This  booklet  virtually  constitutes  a  special  chapter  of 
How  to  Psycho- Analyze,  Yourself,  and  is  in  amplification  of 
Chapter  XVIII  in  that  work  entitled,  The  Psychology  of 
Disturbing  Dreams. 

Many  inquiries  have  been  received  by  the  writer  for  fur- 
ther information  as  to  the  significance  of  certain  factors  in 
the  recurring  dream  (i.e.,  the  dream  in  which  certain  partic- 
ular features  are  repeatedly  dreamed),  and  this  brochure 
has  been  written  in  response  thereto. 

JOSEPH  EALPH 
3205  E.  Fourth  St. 
Long  Beach,  California, 


THE  LOVE  LIFE  OF  THE  UNCONSCIOUS  MIND 


CONSCIOUSNESS  AND  THE  UNCONSCIOUS 

OME  time  ago  I  endeavored  to  explain  to  a  friend 
the  principles  that  are  connected  with  unconscious 
repressions,  and  the  mental  conflicts  which  result 
therefrom. 

I  am  afraid  that  I  made  rather  a  sorry  failure  of  my 
efforts ;  for  after  I  had  concluded  my  arguments  my  friend 
very  gravely  remarked:  "Well,  all  that  which  you  have 
said  has  heen  very  interesting;  hut  I  hardly  think  that 
I  am  afflicted  with  any  unconscious  conflicts;  anyway,  if  I 
am  I  don't  know  it." 

I  suggested  to  my  friend  that  his  remark  was  somewhat 
analogous  in  effect  to  what  would  be  the  case,  if,  having 
been  accused  by  his  good  wife  of  having  talked  in  his  sleep, 
he  offered  as  evidence  in  defense  the  statement  that  he 
could  not  have  done  that  with  which  he  was  charged,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  he  could  not  remember  anything  about 
the  experience. 

Most  people  are  ready  to  accept  the  principle  that  be- 
neath the  horizon  of  consciousness  there  exist  certain  stra- 
tums  of  mental  activity  of  which  there  can  be  no  conscious 
apprehension ;  but  there  is  nevertheless  a  tendency  to  think 
that,  somehow  or  other,  a  person  ought  to  have  some  con- 
scious knowledge  of  these  unconscious  mental  processes. 
There  seems  to  be  an  inability  to  realize  that  by  the  term 
unconscious  there  is  implied  a  state  of  mental  activity  and 
forms  of  psychical  influences  of  the  nature  and  trend  of 
which  the  individual  can  have  no  realization  whatever. 


GOVEKNING  PSYCHO- ANALYTIC  PKINCIPLES 
It  is  very  necessary  to  apprehend  the  two  following 
psycho-analytic  principles  if  the  governing  influences  of  the 
human  personality  are  to  be  understood  :— 

(a)  The  motivating  influences  of  the  personality  are 
unconscious. 

(b)  Until  ascertained  by  psycho-analysis,  the  individual 
cannot  possess  any  conscious  knowledge  of  the  nature  and 
trend  of  the  unconscious  mental  activity  that  constitutes  the 
governing  factors  of  his  own  personality. 

As  stated  in  Chapter  XVIII  of  How  to  Psycho- Analyze 
Yourself,  all  recurring  dreams  reveal  the  fact  that  in  the 
unconscious  mental  life  of  the  dreamer  there  exist  certain 
starved  love  yearnings. 

Eecurring  dreams  indicate  that  some  particular  wish  or 
tendency  (often  of  an  infantile  nature),  persists  in  smol- 
dering in  the  unconscious  mental  depths. 

No  small  amount  of  the  hostility  that  is  encountered  in 
life  arises  from  misunderstanding;  and  a  great  deal  of  the 
opposition  which  Freudian  principles  have  encountered  in 
some  directions  has  been  because  the  exact  character  of 
these  principles  has  been  misconstrued. 

At  first  glance  a  person  may  consider  that  he  has  some 
justification  for  reacting  very  strongly  to  the  idea  that  a 
staid,  prosaic,  and  extremely  circumspect  spinster  (for 
example),  might  experience  erotic  strivings  in  her  uncon- 
scious mental  life,  and  which  could  be  of  such  a  strong  and 
persistent  character  as  to  pronouncedly  tinge  her  general 
temperamental  disposition,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  for  her 
to  be  wholly  ignorant  of  such  conditions. 

The  reader  may  furthermore  be  even  more  sceptical  if 
advised  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  so  far  afield  for  such 
an  illustration  as  the  foregoing,  and  can  find  somewhat  sim- 
ilar conditions  (to  some  degree  or  other),  in  his  or  her  own 

6 


unconscious   mind   by   applying   the   psycho- analytic   test 
thereto. 

DEVOLUTION  OF  PKIMITIVE  INSTINCTS 

In  Chapter  X  of  How  to  Psycho- Analyze  Yourself  I 
described  the  causes  of  unconscious  conflicts;  and  in 
Chapter  XXIII I  sketched  in  outline  some  of  the  difficulties 
which  the  child  has  to  surmount  in  its  struggle  towards 
attaining  cultural  responsibility.  The  reader  will  therefore 
be  prepared  to  realize  the  significance  of  that  which  I  will 
now  set  forth. 

The  evolution  of  a  desirable  personality  implies  the 
devolution  of  certain  primitive  instincts.  Ethical  require- 
ments demand  that  crude  and  primitive  psychical  elements 
shall  be  sublimated  (refined)  into  higher  channels  of 
expression. 

Among  other  lessons  which  the  child  has  to  learn  is  that 
society  cannot  be  best  served  when  the  individual  directs 
his  efforts  toward  purely  selfish  aims.  He  must  (for 
example),  become  grounded  in  the  first  principle  of  altru- 
ism: a  regard  for  the  interest  of  others.  He  must  learn 
(oftentimes  by  many  painful  experiences),  that  this  world 
was  not  created  for  his  special  personal  benefit ;  and  he  has 
to  realize  that  he  cannot  and  must  not  do  just  as  he  may 
feel  disposed.  He  has  to  remember,  in  fact,  that  he  is  only 
a  unit  in  a  vast  and  highly  complicated  commonwealth,  in 
relation  to  which  he  has  many  personal  obligations. 

Of  all  of  the  primitive  impulses  which  the  child  has  to 
bring  under  restraint  the  sexual  is  the  most  prominent,  the 
most  dominant,  and  the  most  insistent. 

This  being  the  case  it  naturally  follows  that  a  greater 
psychical  struggle  hinges  around  the  cultural  harnessing 
of  the  sexual  instinct  in  the  individual's  struggle  towards 
a  status  of  personal  responsibility  than  is  the  case  with  any 
other  primitive  characteristic. 


THE  URGE  OF  LIFE 

The  urge  of  life  manifests  itself  as  energy.  No  matter 
whether  we  consider  the  efforts  that  are  put  forth  by  the 
athlete,  the  strength  that  is  evidenced  by  the  manual 
laborer,  the  application  of  purpose  that  is  exemplified  by  the 
attainments  of  the  explorer,  the  intensive  mental  concentra- 
tion that  is  brought  into  requisition  by  the  student  or  sci- 
entist, or  the  driving  force  that  enables  the  business  man  of 
heavy  responsibilities  to  accomplish  his  purposes :  the  sus- 
taining factor  in  all  of  such  instances  (the  driving  force), 
is  one  and  the  same,  viz.,  psychic  energy. 

It  should  be  understood  that  the  physical  and  psychical 
functions  of  the  human  mechanism  are  not  motivated  by 
different  sets  of  vital  processes,  in  which  one  vital  process 
would  relate  to  mental  activity,  another  to  physical  endur- 
ance, another  to  the  demands  of  nutrition,  and  another 
to  the  requirements  of  the  purely  sexual  functions.  There 
is  only  one  form  of  energy  involved  in  all  of  such  instances. 

Cultural  requirements  demand  that  ideas  which  relate 
to  the  purely  sex  aspects  of  sexual  activity  shall  not  be  per- 
mitted to  be  persistently  visualized  in  the  consciousness; 
and  a  loosening  of  restraint  in  this  respect  would  lower  the 
standard  of  mental  altitude  upon  which  the  well-being  of 
a  highly  evolved  society  depends  for  its  existence.  Never- 
theless, ignorance  in  relation  to  this  subject  may  have  as 
harmful  effects  as  any  that  are  produced  by  positively 
wanton  actions  oftentimes. 

All  concrete  ideas  are  based  upon  certain  memory 
associations,  and  which  memories  are  revived  in  a  more  or 
less  vivid  manner  whenever  thoughts  that  relate  to  them 
are  dwelt  upon.  The  consequence  of  this  principle  is:  if 
certain  thoughts  have  a  tendency  to  revive  distasteful  mem- 
ory associations,  there  will  come  into  effect  a  strong  incli- 
nation on  the  part  of  the  individual  to  repress  (banish) 
such  painful  thoughts  from  the  consciousness. 

8 


THE  SEXUAL  IMPULSE  is  MORE  THAN  A  MERE  FUNCTION 

It  is  a  comparatively  easy  attainment  to  repress  out  of 
the  consciousness  all  direct  ideas  that  relate  to  the  sexual 
impulse ;  but  there  is  only  one  means  by  which  this  impulse 
can  be  extinguished,  and  that  is  by  actual  somatic  death. 
For  this  impulse  is  not  a  mere  function ;  it  is  a  principle  of 
life.  Not  only  would  human  life  be  unable  to  persist 
without  this  principle,  it  could  not  exist. 

The  difference  between  the  primitive  savage  and  a  highly 
cultured  individual  can  be  expressed  by  the  one  word  subli- 
mation; and  the  struggle  of  the  child  towards  a  desirable 
status  of  social  responsibility  consists  in  a  persistent 
applying  of  sublimating  efforts. 

The  motivating  factors  in  the  psychic  life  of  the  savage 
and  that  of  the  cultured  individual  are  one  and  the  same. 
The  crude  elements  in  the  psychical  foundations  of  these 
two  divergent  types  are  identical  in  character.  Those  which 
exist  in  the  latter  instance  are  refinements  of  what  occur 
in  the  former. 

In  the  savage  the  urge  motivates  along  primitive  levels ; 
it  is  unrefined,  and  flows  unrestrictedly  along  lines  of  least 
psychical  resistance.  In  the  cultured  unit  this  urge  is 
raised  to  higher  levels  of  expression. 

In  the  savage,  the  urge  of  life  has  only  primitive  aspira- 
tions ;  it  consequently  finds  its  means  of  expression  in  chan- 
nels that  are  crude.  In  the  highly  evolved  type  of  mankind 
this  urge  reaches  satisfying  outlets  at  higher  cultural  alti- 
tudes. 

Two  EXAMPLES  OF  SUBLIMATION 

Florence  Nightingale  and  Frances  Willard  may  be  cited 
as  instances  where  the  principles  of  sublimation  were  well 
illustrated.  In  both  of  these  cases  the  life's  urge  reached 
out  to  high  levels  of  expression;  self  was  subordinated 
to  the  interest  of  others.  In  the  application  of  their 

9 


respective  purposes  these  two  women  directed  the  whole 
force  of  their  respective  psychic  energies. 

Florence  Nightingale  and  Frances  Willard  had  high 
ideals.  They  therefore  harnessed  their  psychic  energy 
(their  life's  urge),  to  an  attainment  of  their  high  purposes. 
They  consequently  sublimated  their  primitive  impulses  to 
the  lofty  altitude  of  altruistic  endeavor. 

The  energy  that  Florence  Nightingale  used  in  braving 
the  horrors  of  Scrutari,  and  which  Frances  Willard  utilized 
in  the  interest  of  social  reform,  was  one  and  the  same  basic 
principle  that  is  possessed  by  the  savage,  and  which  every 
other  type  of  individual  possesses  in  common. 

By  reason  of  restricted  memory  associations  some  peo- 
ple have  a  difficulty  in  realizing  that  the  actuating  energy 
that  exists  behind  the  noble  efforts  of  a  Florence  Nightin- 
gale or  a  Frances  Willard  is  one  and  the  same  in  general 
principle  of  which  some  anasmic  souls  would  deny  the 
existence  in  their  own  psychical  constitutions;  yet  such  is 
the  actual  case. 

The  urge  of  life  may  find  as  many  different  levels  of 
expression  as  there  are  individuals  in  existence;  but,  still, 
there  is  only  one  form  of  urge. 

If,  because  of  narrow  memory  resources,  a  person  is 
unable  to  think  of  the  sexual  instinct  without  there  being 
developed  in  the  consciousness  some  more  or  less  vivid 
ideas  relating  to  the  purely  sex  functioning  aspects  of  that 
instinct  (and  which  is  a  tendency  which  the  ultra  prudish 
individual  shares  with  the  one  who  is  irredeemably  vulgar), 
then  so  inuch  the  worse  for  the  diseased  mental  attitudes  of 
such  people. 

To  the  unimaginative,  a  lump  of  coal  tar  is  nothing  but 
a  black  and  unappealing  viscous  mass ;  to  the  analytic  chem- 
ist it  is  a  world  of  infinite  possibilities  from  which  he  is 
able  to  distill  a  range  of  substances  of  the  most  transcen- 
dent beauty  and  practical  utility.  A  somewhat  analogous  set 

10 


of  conditions  exist  in  relation  to  possible  concepts  in  relation 
to  the  sexual  impulse, 

REPKESSION  vs.  SUBLIMATION 

It  is  comparatively  easy  to  free  the  consciousness  of 
concrete  sexual  thoughts;  in  fact  such  an  attainment  as 
that  is  merely  a  natural  concomitant  to  a  healthy  mental 
attitude.  Let  it  be  remembered,  however,  and  f orevermore, 
that  if  mere  efforts  at  repression  are  manifested,  without 
any  actual  sublimation  of  the  impulse  being  accomplished, 
then  the  individual  in  question  will  only  have  succeeded  in 
accomplishing  a  make-believe  condition  of  psychical  hygiene. 

Difficulties  cannot  be  disposed  of  by  any  such  simple 
expediency  as  that  of  turning  the  mental  back  to  them.  If  it 
were  possible  to  accomplish  a  difficult  purpose  by  any  such 
simple  method  as  that,  then  this  world  would  not  be  a  par- 
ticularly ennobling  place  in  which  to  live ;  for  there  would 
not  exist  any  premium  on  individual  effort. 

Sublimation  of  the  sexual  instinct  does  not  imply  that 
no  thoughts  of  sex  must  ever  occupy  the  consciousness ;  for 
a  total  absence  of  all  conscious  ideas  in  that  respect  can 
quite  strongly  indicate  the  existence  of  conditions  which 
have  a  serious  pathologic  significance.  The  governing  fac- 
tor in  such  instances  is  that  of  their  hygienic  complexion. 

The  first  step  toward  sublimating  the  sexual  impulse 
consists  in  adopting  toward  it  a  healthy  mental  attitude. 
It  must  be  realized  that,  if  instead  of  sublimation,  this 
impulse  is  repressed,  very  serious  psychical  trouble  is 
courted. 

The  sexual  instinct  is  a  manifestation  of  kinetic  energy; 
it  is  an  urge  that  is  continually  striving  for  expression.  If 
this  urge  is  not  designedly  utilized,  and  in  accordance  with 
cultural  requirements,  it  will  strive  for,  and  find  an  outlet 
along  undesirable  lines. 


11 


VOCABULARY  or  THE  UNCONSCIOUS  MIND 

The  test  of  sublimation  attainments  is  to  be  found  in 
the  nature  of  the  dream  experiences  of  the  individual.  If 
there  have  been  no  repressions,  and  all  thoughts  in  rela- 
tion to  the  sexual  impulse  have  been  healthily  disposed  of 
in  the  consciousness,  there  will  be  no  dreams  persistently 
revolving  around  erotic  ideas.  On  the  other  hand :  if,  instead 
of  a  sublimation  of  this  impulse,  it  has  been  crudely 
repressed  (which  is  virtually  a  denial  to  one's  self  of  the 
existence  of  any  sex  thoughts  or  sex  feelings,  or  some  other 
similar  form  of  unhealthy  mental  attitude),  then  the  true 
conditions  will  be  revealed  by  the  phenomena  of  recurring 
dreams.  The  unconscious  mind  will  continually  strive  to 
express  what  the  consciousness  has  repressed. 

As  described  in  How  to  Psycho -Analyze  Yourself,  a 
dream  is  a  disguised  expression  of  a  repressed  wish;  and 
in  the  recurring  dream  the  unconscious  mind  persistently 
repeats  some  repressed  yearning. 

In  the  conscious  life  we  do  not  continually  alter  the  sym- 
bols which  we  use  as  a  medium  for  exchanging  ideas ;  for 
we  have  a  more  or  less  stereotyped  means  for  expressing 
our  thoughts.  The  written  and  spoken  word  symbols  which 
we  use  today  for  the  purpose  of  exchanging  ideas  we  will 
probably  utilize  again  tomorrow  in  case  we  desire  to 
exchange  the  same  ideas.  It  is  by  means  of  custom  and 
usage  such  as  this  whereby  a  language  becomes  evolved. 

As  is  the  case  with  intellectual  thought  symbols  so  it  is 
with  unconscious  methods  of  expression.  When  the 
unconscious  mental  mechanism  has  gravitated  to  the  utiliza- 
tion of  a  certain  series  of  symbols  for  expressing  its  yearn- 
ings it  will  continue  to  use  those  same  symbols  every  time 
those  same  yearnings  come  into  activity. 

If,  for  example,  the  pictorialized  idea  of  the  individual's 
climbing  of  stairs,  or  passing  through  a  series  of  rooms, 
serves  as  a  symbol  by  which  some  repressed  wish  or  yearn- 

12 


ing  can  be  expressed,  then  that  set  of  ideas  will  always 
constitute  the  media  whereby  that  particular  wish  or  yearn- 
ing can  be  expressed  in  the  recurring  dream. 

In  course  of  time,  therefore,  the  unconscious  mind  of 
every  person  builds  up  a  vocabulary  by  means  of  which  it 
can  express  its  disguised  tendencies;  and  although  this 
vocabulary  will  not  be  identical  with  all  people,  it  will  con- 
tain some  characteristics  which  are  common  to  the  race. 
There  exists,  in  fact,  a  certain  range  of  hereditary  uncon- 
scious mental  symbols :  a  form  of  unconscious  racial  vocab- 
ulary. 

An  Arabian  nomad  would  never  dream  of  missing  a  train 
nor  of  being  whisked  by  an  elevator  to  the  upper  floor  of 
a  tall  office  building.  Nor  would  an  American  stock-broker 
be  likely  to  dream  of  riding  camel-back  over  a  desert.  Never- 
theless, both  of  such  seemingly  diverse  types  of  dreams 
would  possess  common  associative  roots;  so  that  if  the 
Arab  dreamed  of  his  riding-camel  having  broken  loose  from 
camp  and  the  American  broker  dreamed  of  losing  the  Twen- 
tieth Century  Limited,  they  would  virtually  be  expressing 
similar  unconscious  ideas. 

By  means  of  the  vast  amount  of  evidence  which  has 
been  gathered  from  many  sources,  by  many  patient  inves- 
tigators, it  is  now  known  that  certain  ideas  have  special 
significance  when  they  are  featured  in  dreams;  and  by  a 
decoding  of  the  real  meaning  of  many  of  these  symbols  by 
such  investigators  as  Freud,  Stekel  and  Kaplan,  etc.,  a  great 
deal  has  been  accomplished  in  uncovering  the  strivings 
of  the  unconscious  mind  as  expressed  in  dreams. 

A  recurring  dream  is  a  persistent  utilization  of  certain 
particular  symbols  on  the  part  of  the  unconscious  mind  by 
which  it  expresses  its  yearnings ;  and  which  persistent  utili- 
zation of  particular  symbols  takes  place  whenever  the  uncon- 
scious mind  experiences  certain  recurring  sensations. 


13 


SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE  EECUKKING  DREAM 

So-called  goodness  can,  under  certain  conditions,  consist 
of  rank  stupidity.  On  the  other  hand,  mere  negative  good- 
ness is  almost  as  deplorable  as  is  positive  badness. 

Failure  to  sublimate  the  crude  sexual  impulse  does  not 
wholly  hinge  on  the  status  of  the  ethical  aspirations  of  the 
personality;  it  often  results  from  a  lack  of  sensible  appre- 
hension of  certain  fundamental  requirements. 

If  the  good  St.  Augustine  had  only  possessed  a  little 
psycho-analytic  knowledge  he  would  never  have  felt  him- 
self driven  to  supplicate  God  to  hold  him  blameless  for  the 
nature  of  his  dreams. 

Eecurring  dreams  indicate  that  there  has  been  a  failure 
to  adjust  the  insistence  of  the  sexual  impulse  in  conformity 
with  the  best  interest  of  the  personality  and  of  social 
requirements.  They  indicate  that  there  has  been  an  inability 
to  either  raise  the  quality  of  this  impulse  to  higher  sublima- 
tion levels  on  the  one  hand,  or  to  healthily  treat  it  in  con- 
formity with  the  realities  of  life  on  the  other. 

Eecurring  dreams  show  that  the  sexual  impulse  has  been 
repressed  without  having  been  satisfactorily  sublimated. 
They  are  evidence  that  this  principle  of  life's  energy  has 
neither  been  adequately  utilized  physically,  nor  refined  to 
higher  altitudes  of  expression. 

If  a  person  has  high  ethical  aspirations,  he  will  realize 
that  the  purely  physical  aspects  of  the  sexual  impulse  can- 
not be  granted  unlimited  license.  In  order  to  comply  with 
cultural  demands,  therefore,  there  is  only  one  of  two  pos- 
sible courses  of  action  that  are  open  to  the  individual:  he 
must  either  repress  the  insistence  of  this  impulse  or  else 
sublimate  it. 

Now  to  repress  means  an  attempt  to  stifle-  whereas  to 
sublimate  implies  to  utilize.  There  is  therefore  no  option 
of  conduct  from  which  the  ethical  individual  can  choose 
and  yet  at  the  same  time  be  psychically  healthy.  Sub- 
limation consequently  becomes  a  cultural  necessity. 

14 


DKEAM  SYMBOLS 

The  pictorialized  ideas  that  serve  as  symbols  of  expres- 
sion in  recurring  dreams  are  of  many  types,  of  which  the 
following  are  a  few  of  the  most  common  examples : 

The  person  dreams  of  ascending  or  descending  stairs, 
going  through  passage-ways,  halls,  or  a  number  of  rooms, 
swimming,  rowing,  flying,  gliding,  swinging,  riding  horse- 
back, running,  ascending  in  a  balloon  or  airplane,  falling 
over  precipices,  struggling  to  catch  trains  or  other  means 
of  conveyance,  or  missing  connections  in  these  respects, 
registering  on  or  off  at  hotels,  viewing  certain  forms  of 
buildings  or  other  structural  objects,  carrying,  handling, 
or  in  other  ways  treating  such  articles  as  hand-bags,  trunks, 
umbrellas  and  walking  sticks,  etc.,  etc. 

With  some  people  animals  figure  prominently  in  the 
recurring  dream;  some  of  which  are  fierce  and  menacing 
while  others  are  benign.  With  many  people  snakes  and 
other  forms  of  lowly  life  figure  prominently. 

The  recurring  dreams  of  some  people  revolve  around 
the  act  of  losing  something  or  other,  such  as  an  article  of 
jewelry  or  clothing.  Some  people  persistently  dream  of 
losing  teeth  or  undergo  some  other  disagreeable  sensation. 

In  all  such  experiences  the  point  of  significance  does 
not  relate  to  the  exact  nature  of  the  idea  which  is  drama- 
tized in  the  dream,  but  lies  in  the  fact  that  some  particular 
idea  persistently  recurs. 

Every  recurring  dream  has  an  erotic  significance. 

THE  SEXUAL  MOTIVE  POWEB 

A  successful  sublimation  of  the  sexual  impulse  is  gov- 
erned by  two  requirements :  (a)  the  cultivation  of  a  healthy 
mental  attitude  towards  that  impulse,  and  (b)  a  rightful 
harnessing  of  the  energy  connected  with  it  in  accordance 
with  social  demands. 

In  Will  Power  While  You  Wait  (Chapter  XX,  How  to 

15 


Psycho -Analyze  Yourself],  I  have  shown  the  necessity  of 
the  individual's  having  an  interest  object;  a  failure  to 
acquire  which  will  seriously  handicap  all  other  efforts  that 
may  be  made  towards  psychical  adjustment.  This  interest 
object  consequently  becomes  the  channel  in  which  the  energy 
which  constitutes  the  motive  power  of  the  sexual  impulse 
can  desirably  and  satisfyingly  flow. 

If  this  available  energy  is  not  directed  into  desirable 
channels  it  will  cut  courses  of  its  own;  and  which  courses 
will  not  be  in  the  best  interest  of  the  individual. 

This  energy  exists,  and  cannot  be  stifled.  If  it  is  not 
therefore  used  rightly  it  will  most  certainly  spend  itself 
harmfully,  and  in  directions  which  will  be  psychically 
destructive. 

It  is  now  known  that  it  is  this  unharnessed  energy  of  the 
sexual  impulse  which  is  the  pathogenic  factor  in  all  neurotic 
disturbances  and  cases  of  so-called  nervous  breakdown. 
Ignored,  unutilized,  and  oftentimes  despised  (considered 
to  be  something  too  "  unclean "  for  some  types  of  unhealthy 
minds  to  think  about),  and  consequently  unsublimated,  this 
insistent  force  of  a  fundamental  principle  of  life  carves  out 
blind  channels  of  release  in  the  unconscious  psychical 
mechanism  and  goes  on  the  rampage. 

Every  form  of  nervous  ailment  indicates  that  there  exists 
in  the  unconscious  mechanism  of  the  sufferer  a  disturb- 
ance in  the  natural  rhythm  of  the  psycho-sexual  impulse. 
Such  nervous  conditions  betray,  without  exception,  that 
there  has  been  repression  without  sublimation. 

THE  WOEKING  PEESSUBE  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL 

The  energy  which  exists  behind  the  sexual  impulse  is  the 
motive  power  to  all  human  achievements.  It  constitutes  the 
working  ability  of  the  individual.  It  is  to  the  personality 
what  pressure  per  square  inch  is  in  physical  mechanics.  It 
is  the  boiler  power  behind  all  forms  of  mental  and  physi- 
ological effort. 

16 


This  impulse  is  not  a  mere  function;  it  is  a  principle  of 
life.  The  purely  sex  attribute  of  this  impulse  is  virtually 
the  least  significant  of  its  avenues  of  utilization,  and  is 
merely  an  incident  to  broader  considerations. 

With  some  people  this  motive  power  becomes  released 
at  low  psychical  levels ;  whereas  in  the  case  of  others  it  is 
raised  (by  sublimating  efforts),  to  the  most  exalted  peaks 
of  expression.  In  all  instances,  however,  the  energy  is  one 
and  the  same  in  basic  quality. 

Nature  does  not  supply  a  particular  form  of  psychical 
energy  for  the  savage  and  another  form  for  the  altruist. 
The  molecular  gyration  which  exists  in  the  blood  corpuscle 
of  a  troglodyte  is  identical  in  character  with  that  which 
exists  in  the  case  of  a  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  or  of  a  Darwin. 
The  principles  of  Nature  are  not  patchy  in  their  constitu- 
tion, but  are  universal. 

OUK  BEST  is  ON  THE  OUTSIDE 

In  the  struggle  toward  a  status  of  cultural  responsi- 
bility the  personality  has  to  surmount  many  psychical 
obstacles;  and  few  indeed  are  those  who  succeed  in  their 
efforts  to  a  degree  of  perfection. 

Consequently :  although  the  principles  of  Nature  are  not 
patchy  in  their  constitution,  an  application  of  those  prin- 
ciples can  produce  an  infinite  variety  of  effects. 

*  *  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he. ' '  And  accord- 
ing to  the  unconscious  thoughts  of  the  individual  so  will  be 
the  nature  of  the  personality. 

Hitherto  it  has  been  complacently  assumed  that  it  is  the 
worst  part  of  the  individual's  self  which  is  on  the  outside. 
People  have  found  it  to  be  extremely  comfortable  to  believe 
(or  to  try  to  believe),  that  the  exterior  part  of  the  person- 
ality is  the  worst,  and  is  merely  a  superficial  layer  to  higher 
and  more  refined  psychical  characteristics  existing  within. 
Psycho-analysis,  however,  has  proved  that  an  altogether 

17 


opposite  state  of  affairs  is  the  case.  It  has  demonstrated 
that  it  is  the  best,  and  consequently  the  most  socialized 
attributes  of  the  personality  which  exists  on  the  outside; 
and  that  it  is  the  worst,  the  primitive,  the  uncultured,  and 
consequently  the  least  socialized  psychical  tendencies  which 
lie  within. 

It  is  always  the  best  side  of  the  personality  which  is 
presented  towards  the  world.  In  man's  unconscious  men- 
tal processes  vestiges  of  the  archaic  survive.  Beneath  the 
veneer  of  civilization  the  savage  in  man  still  exists ;  and  in 
the  daily  actions  we  find  these  primitive  tendencies  con- 
tinually manifesting  themselves.  The  farther  we  are 
removed  from  cultural  restraint  the  more  pronouncedly  these 
strains  become  revealed.  In  our  private  lives  we  are  there- 
fore always  more  primitive  in  our  actions  than  when  we  are 
exposed  to  the  social  gaze;  we  are  even  more  so  in  our 
thoughts ;  while  in  the  unconscious  mental  life  the  ancestral 
strains  of  the  brute  are  latent  factors  which  have  always  to 
be  reckoned  with. 

Sublimation  is  the  only  true  hall  mark  to  psychical 
wholesomeness ;  and  the  greater  the  degree  of  smug  respect- 
ability with  which  some  individuals  would  seek  to  impress 
the  world  the  greater  the  evidence  that  in  such  cases  the 
sublimating  processes  have  attained  the  least  degree  of 
desirable  results. 

Smug  respectability  is  an  attempt,  by  conscious  deport- 
ment, to  compensate  for  an  unconscious  disreputableness. 

The  concept  that  it  is  the  worst  which  is  without,  and 
that  it  is  the  best  which  is  within,  is  accountable  for  the 
long  train  of  psychical  miseries  that  are  so  profuse  in  the 
social  life.  It  is  this  erroneous  concept  which  is  responsi- 
ble for  having  filled  our  asylums,  and  for  having  inflicted 
upon  society  a  multitude  of  neurotics. 


18 


PENETKATING  THE  DISGUISE  OF  THE  EECURRING  DEEAM 

No  one  who  is  really  happy,  and  whose  life's  urge  is 
strongly  projected  towards  some  desirable  interest  object, 
will  continue  to  experience  recurring  dreams. 

When  a  recurring  dream  is  split  up  into  its  elemental 
parts,  the  condensations  and  displacements  disintegrated, 
and  the  free  association  method  applied  thereto  (as  fully 
described  in  Chapter  X  of  How  to  Psycho- Analyze  Your- 
self), the  dreamer  will  soon  find  himself  face  to  face  with 
memories  which  he  will  be  able  to  interpret  in  an  entirely 
new  light. 

In  this  analysis  there  must  be  no  shrinking  back  from 
whatever  ideas  may  spring  forth  into  the  consciousness ;  for 
nothing  will  come  up  from  the  unconscious  mental  depths 
but  what,  at  some  time  or  other,  under  some  condition  or 
other,  has  been  repressed  down  into  it  in  an  unsublimated 
form. 

Nothing  will  be  created  by  this  analyzing  process ;  there 
simply  occurs  a  liberation  of  mental  material  which  has 
existed  for  a  long  time,  but  of  the  quality  of  which  the  con- 
sciousness has  persistently  endeavored  to  deny. 

In  this  analytic  work  the  individual  will  come  face  to 
face  with  some  of  the  motivating  factors  of  the  real  self, 
and  will  consequently  be  able  to  adjust  some  of  the  psychical 
inharmonies  accordingly. 

The  latent  factors  in  the  recurring  dream  represent 
traces  of  unsublimated  psychical  grime  which  have  been 
accumulated  by  the  personality  in  the  struggle  along  the 
trail  towards  cultural  responsibility :  grime  which  has  been 
covered  over  without  having  been  psychically  sterilized. 

When  the  disguise  of  the  recurring  dream  has  been  pene- 
trated (and  the  unconscious  meaning  has  been  thereby 
revealed  to  the  consciousness),  the  dream  will  cease  to  recur. 
There  will  be  no  more  persistent  dreams  of  climbing  stairs, 
floating  through  space,  or  of  some  other  seemingly  innocent 

19 


sets  of  ideas  being  dramatized  in  the  dream.  The  individ- 
ual will  have  peered  into  the  recesses  of  his  soul  and  will 
thereby  have  identified  the  unsublimated  sexual  character- 
istics of  the  psychic  life  which  have  been  buried  there  pos- 
sibly since  the  days  of  pre-adolescence. 

MAKE-BELIEVE  PUKITY  OF  MIND 

Eecurring  dreams  furnish  indubitable  evidence  that 
the  individual  has  endeavored  to  believe  himself  to  be  better 
than  he  really  is ;  they  indicate  that  there  has  been  an  ignor- 
ing of  the  practical  aspects  of  the  principle  expressed  in 
the  aphorism:  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he. 

Sublimation  of  the  sexual  impulse  implies  a  refining 
of  the  attributes  of  that  quality.  It  means  a  raising  of  the 
pitch  of  expression  of  that  principle  from  a  low  to  a  high 
psychical  level.  It  does  not  mean  a  denial  of  the  insistence 
of  that  impulse,  but  an  application  of  its  potential  qualities 
to  cultural  achievements. 

If  this  energy  is  not  designedly  harnessed  (and  its 
inherent  features  thereby  socialized),  it  will  turn  bolshevik 
in  the  unconscious  psychic  life ;  it  will  run  wild. 

It  is  a  condition  such  as  this  which  is  responsible  for 
many  serious  forms  of  mental,  psychical,  and  physiological 
disturbances  with  which  society  is  afflicted. 

When  driven  from  the  consciousness  down  into  the 
unconscious  mental  life,  this  repressed  energy  acts  like  a 
swirling  current  against  an  unstable  bank,  and  with  destruc- 
tive effects.  For  a  time  this  action  proceeds  unrecognized 
by  the  consciousness,  but  the  undermining  influences  are 
none  the  less  dangerous. 

HARNESSING  THE  ENERGY 

In  order  to  harness  this  energy  it  must  be  hitched  up  to 
some  strongly  beckoning  and  constructive  interest  object, 
the  nature  of  which  must  largely  depend  upon  the  govern- 
ing characteristics  of  the  individual. 

20 


This  interest  object  must  be  of  a  nature  which  will  pro- 
vide intensity  of  attention  and  hopeful  striving.  As  long  as 
this  interest  object  is  of  a  socially  desirable  character  its 
exact  nature  is  immaterial.  For  that  matter  no  two  individ- 
uals will  have  similar  inclinations  in  this  respect. 

Each  individual  temperament  must  have  his  or  her  own 
particular  interest  object  to  wards  which  there  can  be  directed 
the  kinetic  energy  that  pertains  to  the  sexual  impulse. 

The  poetic  temperament  sublimates  by  directing  the 
urge  into  efforts  to  express  the  human  emotions  and  pas- 
sions in  pleasing  symphony  and  song.  The  musician  (with 
equal  special  adaptability),  utilizes  the  principles  of  har- 
mony, melody  and  rhythm  in  interpreting  the  emotional  striv- 
ings of  the  ego.  The  artist  finds  his  particular  sublimation 
avenue  by  translating  the  aesthetic  in  terms  of  gratifying 
physical  renderings.  The  author  strives  to  accomplish  a 
similar  purpose  by  directing  his  efforts  at  supplying  the 
sum  of  some  department  of  human  knowledge  for  the  edu- 
cation of  others.  The  ascetic  strives  towards  his  sublima- 
tion goal  by  means  of  processes  of  rigid  ritualistic  observ- 
ances. The  person  who  is  possessed  of  a  fierce  realization 
of  the  unjust  inequalities  of  various  social  conditions  turns 
the  full  power  of  his  or  her  urge  into  efforts  at  adjusting 
those  conditions.  The  scientist,  with  his  reasoning  and 
inquiring  mind,  transforms  the  full  brunt  of  his  primitive 
energy  into  mental  application.  Other  people,  less  construc- 
tively inclined,  find  substitute  channels  for  their  psychical 
energy  in  the  prosecution  of  hobbies,  indulgence  in  sports, 
and  in  the  taking  up  of  various  studies.  They  all  strive  after 
the  same  goal,  even  if  they  follow  different  routes. 

SO-CALLED  NEBVOUS  BKEAKDOWN 

An  attentive  mind  is  a  contented  mind.  On  this  prin- 
ciple hinges  the  outcome  of  the  individual's  efforts  at  sub- 
limation. 

21 


The  first  requisite  towards  attaining  this  goal  is  to  have 
a  desirable  interest  object.  The  person  who  is  lacking  in  a 
strongly  beckoning  interest  object  is  psychically  moribund. 

The  energy  which  is  contained  in  the  sexual  impulse  must 
be  harnessed;  and  if  this  harnessing  is  not  applied  in  a 
normal  and  constructive  manner  it  will  most  certainly  break 
out  and  go  on  the  rampage  in  an  abnormal  and  destructive 
manner. 

It  is  now  known  that  the  multitude  of  so-called  nervous 
diseases  with  which  modern  society  is  afflicted  are  products 
of  displaced  sexual  energy.  In  such  cases  the  energy 
which,  rightly  applied,  would  constitute  the  constructive 
influence  to  great  achievements,  virtually  becomes  a 
destroying  curse.  Having  been  deprived  of  an  adequate 
expression  at  levels  of  low  psychical  pitch,  and  not  having 
been  elevated  to  higher  outlets,  this  crude  insistent  energy 
breaks  out  over  its  natural  banks,  flows  over  into  the  molec- 
ular constitution  of  the  physiological  processes  and,  by  dis- 
rupting them,  produces  disorganization;  and  which  disor- 
ganization is  known  as  d  i  s  e  a  s  e. 

It  may  be  hard  to  realize  that  the  person  suffering  from 
a  so-called  nervous  breakdown  has,  in  reality,  as  much 
energy  at  his  disposal  as  has  an  athlete  or  a  forceful  cap- 
tain of  industry  ;  nevertheless  such  is  the  case. 

A  so-called  nervous  breakdown  is  not  a  breaking  down 
of  energy  resource,  but  is  a  breaking  out  of  the  unutilized 
aspects  of  that  quality.  Where  this  energy  is  under  con- 
trol, and  is  constructively  applied,  it  is  the  creative  influ- 
ence in  all  human  endeavor.  But  where  it  is  beyond  con- 
trol, and  consequently  exerts  itself  destructively,  the  result 
is  disastrous. 


THE  PSYCHICAL 

The  recurring  dream  is  a  sure  indication  that  the  per- 
sonality is  afflicted  with  a  psychical  "drag."  It  shows  that 
there  is  lack  of  harmony  in  the  unconscious  love  life;  and 

22 


there  is  consequently  a  lack  of  physical  energy  in  the  con- 
scious mental  life. 

In  order  to  attain  to  psychical  freedom  the  individual 
must  bring  the  unsublimated  strivings  of  the  repressed 
sexual  impulse  into  alignment  with  the  conscious  endeavors. 
Until  this  is  accomplished  the  personality  is  virtually  split. 
The  consciousness  is  pulling  in  one  direction  and  the  uncon- 
scious strivings  are  pulling  in  another. 

The  nature  of  these  unconscious  psychical  "drags"  can 
be  ascertained  to  a  very  material  extent  by  decoding  the 
symbolized  expressions  that  are  contained  in  the  recurring 
dream.  When  this  is  achieved  the  consciousness  appre- 
hends its  unconscious  weaknesses  and  is  able  to  adjust  the 
conscious  mental  attitude  accordingly. 

The  disguise  of  the  recurring  dream  should  be  analyzed 
away,  and  its  hidden  meaning  thereby  laid  bare  to  conscious 
recognition.  When  this  is  accomplished  the  hitherto  existing 
split  in  the  personality  becomes  annealed. 

A  personality  derives  its  strength  by  apprehending  and 
adjusting  its  weaknesses. 

Nosce  te  ipsum. 

By  these  means  the  personality  becomes  released  from 
its  psychical  "drags." 


23 


The  Price  of  This  Booklet  is  Fifty  Cents 

Orders  Should  Be  Addressed  to 

JOSEPH   RALPH 

P.O.BOX  639 
LONG  BEACH,  CALIFORNIA 


HOW  TO  PSYCHO-ANALYZE  YOURSELF 

THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF 

REMOLDING  THE  PERSONALITY  BY 

THE  ANALYTIC  METHOD 

By 
JOSEPH  RALPH 


HIS  book  has  been  written  with  the 
purpose  of  enabling  people  to  apply 
the  principles  of  psycho-analysis 
by  self -efforts. 

The  author  is  a  practicing  an- 
alyst; and  the  methods  of  instruc- 
tion set  forth  in  this  work  are  based 
upon  the  personal  experience  of  the 
writer,  both  in  relation  to  his  own 
self  and  in  consulting  room  prac- 
tice. 

This  is  not  a  text-book;  it  is  a 
working  manual  of  instructions. 
It  is  the  first  book  that  has  been 
written  by  a  practicing  analyst  in 
the  interest  of  popular  application. 


A  Handsome  Volume,  Six  Inches  by  Nine  Inches,  300  Pages 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR 
Orders  Should  Be  Addressed  to 

JOSEPH  RALPH 

P.  0.  BOX  639,  LONG  BEACH,  CALIFORNIA 

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JUL  21  1942 


